In preparing to take on supernatural forces, Batman turns to his own mystical ally – Oracle – to help prepare for battle in a key scene from Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham. David Giuntoli (Grimm, A Million Little Things) and Gideon Adlon (Pacific Rim: The Black) give voice to Batman and an Elseworlds-altered Oracle, respectively.
Doom comes to Gotham, but that doesn’t mean any of James Gunn’s plans for the DCU have been destroyed. It just means that Warner Bros. Animation still has a parallel track of just creating good animated films. Technically, that fits in what Gunn and Peter Safran announced as “Elseworlds.” No better way to mark the transition of a new era than an adaptation of one of the best Elseworlds comics, The Doom That Came to Gotham.
As the title suggests, it’s a Lovecraft riff. It took decades after creating Arkham Asylum to connect the troubled author’s work directly with Batman. And it took Mike Mignola, no stranger to the dark and disturbing unknown, to do it. Helpfully, DC releases a new edition of the trade on April 4. The animated Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham arrives March 28, which dovetails nicely with WonderCon. So if you’re attending in Anaheim (and not going to Disneyland), the psychic ether gives me a premonition that we’ll probably have the world premiere screening there.
Where Professor Oswald Cobblepot’s expedition ends is where Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham begins as Bruce Wayne and his crew discover Cobblepot’s abandoned ship, including his detailed journal. But the Wayne expedition can find no sign of the professor, even while the evolving Cobblepot and his penguins watch them intently from high above. David Giuntoli (Grimm, A Million Little Things) reprises his Batman: Soul of the Dragon role as the voice of Bruce Wayne & the Dark Knight, while William Salyers (The Regular Show) voices yet another rendition of the Penguin as Cobbelpot.
The press release gives this much:
Inspired by the comic book series by Mike Mignola, Richard Pace and Troy Nixey, Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham is a 1920s-based tale that finds explorer Bruce Wayne accidentally unleashing an ancient evil, expediting his return to Gotham City after a two-decade hiatus. The logic/science-driven Batman must battle Lovecraftian supernatural forces threatening the sheer existence of Gotham, along the way being aided and confronted by reimagined versions of his well-known allies and enemies, including Green Arrow, Ra’s al Ghul, Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, Two-Face, James Gordon and Bruce’s beloved wards. Prepare for a mystical, often terrifying Batman adventure unlike any other.
As is commonplace in an Elseworlds tale, the Caped Crusader’s closest allies appear as altered versions of themselves in Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham, which is available to own on Digital, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack and Blu-ray on March 28, 2023 from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment.
While Bruce Wayne, James Gordon, Harvey Dent and Dick Grayson get only slight deviations from their norm, Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham takes liberties with Jason Todd and Cassandra Cain – reimagining them as Sanjay “Jay” Tawde and Kai Li Cain, respectively – while Barbara Gordon appears as her alter ego Oracle with a bit of an Elseworlds enhancement. Even Oliver Queen gets a few changes to his backstory and 1920s-style presence.
The great Gotham City triumvirate of Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen and Harvey Dent come together at a dinner hosted by the famed archer as the action begins to heat up in Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham. Wayne, Queen and Dent are voiced by DC Animated Movies standards David Giuntoli (Grimm, A Million Little Things), Christopher Gorham (The Lincoln Lawyer, Insatiable) and Patrick Fabian (Better Call Saul), respectively.
We’ll say “inspired by” rather than straight adaptation, because the DC Animated Universe has often taken necessary liberties to both impact run time and sometimes better dramatic choices in hindsight. David Giuntoli plays a slightly different Bruce Wayne/Batman. David Dastmalchian continues his mad dash through the DC Universe, this time as Grendon (this world’s version of Mr. Freeze). As the Robins, Jason Marsden voices Dick Grayson while Karan Brar assays Sanjay Tawde. John DiMaggio, who redefined Aquaman and has taken a stab or two at the Joker, plays Jim Gordon.
Talia al Ghul seems to be integral to the troubled shadows overtaking the city in Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham. Three-time Emmy Award nominee Emily O’Brien (Constantine: City of Demons, Days of Our Lives) reprises her Gotham Knights video game role as Talia al Ghul.Killer Croc’s Elseworlds version might be even more menacing than his usual appearance, particularly as the massive creature operates under the merciless command of Talia al Ghul – or looming tall over Batman in Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham. David Giuntoli (Grimm, A Million Little Things) gives voice to Batman/Bruce Wayne.Bruce Wayne, Kai Li Cain and James Gordon stand graveside pondering their next move during one of the more somber moments of Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham. David Giuntoli (Grimm, A Million Little Things) reprises his Batman: Soul of the Dragon role as the voice of Bruce Wayne & the Dark Knight, while Tati Gabrielle (Kaleidoscope, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Uncharted) voices Kai Li Cain – an Elseworlds interpretation of Cassandra Cain – and longtime DC Animated Movies veteran John DiMaggio (Futurama, Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire) plays James Gordon.As an Elseworlds take on Mr. Freeze, Grendon appears to Bruce Wayne and his family as a frozen, undying corpse who is devoted to the evil entity unleashed upon the unsuspecting world. DC Animated Movies veterans David Giuntoli (Grimm, A Million Little Things) and David Dastmalchian (Dune, The Suicide Squad, Ant-Man) give voice to Bruce Wayne/Batman and Grendon, respectively, in Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham.Bruce Wayne and his wards make their final stop on a 20-year journey – at Professor Cobblepot’s frozen encampment – in one of the opening scenes of Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham. David Giuntoli (Grimm, A Million Little Things) portrays Bruce Wayne, while Jason Marsden (Young Justice, A Goofy Movie) plays Dick Grayson and Karan Brar (Jessie, Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise) gives voice to the Elseworlds version of Jason Todd, Sanjay “Jay” Tawde.
In addition to running Fanboy Planet, Derek has written for ActionAce, Daily Radar, Once Upon A Dime, and The Wave. He has contributed stories to Arcana Comics (The Greatest American Hero) and Monsterverse Comics (Bela Lugosi's Tales from the Grave). He has performed with ComedySportz and Silicon Valley Shakespeare, though relocated to Hollywood to... work in an office? If you ever played Eric's Ultimate Solitaire on the Macintosh, it was Derek's voice as The Weasel that urged you to play longer. You can buy his book "I Was Flesh Gordon" on the Amazon link at the right. Email him at [email protected].
